Ballpark Mysteries 14 Read online

  “Louie escaped again?” Mike asked.

  “Yes!” Kate said. “My mom said that Manny called her looking for us. Louie disappeared, and Manny thought we might be able to help find him since Louie liked us so much. We’ve got to get back down to the groundskeepers’ area right away!”

  Mike glanced at the field. The Cardinals were getting ready to bat. Red would be up soon. “Okay, let’s go!” he said. “But when we find Louie, let’s put him on a leash!”

  Mike and Kate ran through the hallways of the stadium. They took an elevator to a lower level and ran down a long hallway. The security guards waved them through a checkpoint. Soon, Mike and Kate were back in the room where they had seen the team of horses.

  But Manny and Tommy weren’t there!

  The room was empty. There were no horses, no dog, no people. Just piles of dirt and grass seed for the field. At the far end of the room was a small workshop with tools and cabinets. A fan rattled overhead. A collection of lawn mowers and other machines lined one wall.

  “Manny! Tommy!” Kate called.

  “We’re in the loading area!” came a voice from outside.

  Mike pointed to the open door that Louie had escaped through earlier. He and Kate walked into a large loading zone lit with streetlights. The lot was fenced off from the street. Highway traffic rumbled above them.

  Manny and Tommy were standing next to a long tractor trailer with big pictures of the horses on its side.

  “Mike! Kate!” Manny called out. “Over here!”

  The cousins ran over. “What happened?” Kate asked.

  Manny sighed. He pointed to the area that Mike and Kate had just come from. “After we finished parading around the stadium, we unhitched the horses in there,” he said. “Louie was lying on a mat next to the wagon. He always does that. He likes to rest after his ride.”

  Tommy patted the side of the tractor trailer. “We opened our truck and led the horses in one by one, just like we always do,” he said. He pointed to another tractor trailer standing behind the first one. “Then we loaded the delivery wagon on that truck and secured it.”

  “We were just about to leave when we realized we couldn’t find Louie. We searched everywhere, but he was nowhere to be seen,” Manny said. “He’s always ready to go when the truck is ready. He likes to ride up front with us.”

  Mike and Kate looked around. There were lots of places for a dog to hide outside the stadium. But the loading area was fenced off, so there didn’t seem to be any way for Louie to escape into the city streets.

  “Are you sure he’s not in one of the trucks?” Mike asked. “Or with the horses?”

  “We checked twice. He’s not there. We also called for him,” Manny said. “But he didn’t come. That’s why we need your help. I thought maybe Louie would come if you called him.”

  “We’ll help you look,” Kate said.

  Mike and Kate began their search. “Louie! Louie! Louie!” they called out. Kate checked around the tractor trailer trucks. Mike examined the fences for any holes. They continued to call out and search for Louie, but there was no sign of the dog.

  “We should look inside,” Mike said. “Maybe he ran up the hallway. We can ask the security guard if she’s seen him.”

  “Good idea,” Manny said.

  Tommy held up his hand. “You guys can look inside,” he said. Tommy glanced at Manny. “Louie is your responsibility. I need to take care of the horses.”

  Tommy walked over to the horse truck and went inside. Manny shook his head. “Tommy’s great, but he can get a little bit grumpy,” he said. “Come on, let’s check with the security guard.”

  Manny, Kate, and Mike went back to the groundskeepers’ area. Even though they couldn’t see the field from inside, they could hear the Cardinals fans in the stadium and the loudspeaker announcements. “Now batting: Red Gibson!” called the announcer.

  “Aw, we’re going to miss Red’s hit!” Mike said.

  Kate waved her hand. “He’ll be up again at least two more times,” she said. “It’s more important for us to find Louie.”

  Kate pointed to the security guard at the end of the hall. “Mike and I will double-check this room,” she said. “You can talk with the security guard.”

  Manny nodded. “Sounds good,” he said. He walked up the hallway to the guard, while Mike and Kate searched the room. They explored the area at the far end, near the lawn equipment. But Louie wasn’t there, either. As Kate searched the workshop filled with tools, Mike looked around where the wagon and Louie’s mat had been.

  “Hey, there’s something here,” he said, leaning down. Kate rushed over. There was a light brown streak on the ground. Mike knelt and sniffed it, his face almost touching the floor.

  “What in the world are you doing?” Kate asked.

  Mike smiled. “Check this out! It’s peanut butter. Crunchy. My favorite!” He rubbed his belly. “That reminds me, I’m hungry!”

  Just then, Manny came back. “No sign of Louie,” he said. “The guard has been there since before the game. She said there’s no chance Louie went up the hallway.”

  “Maybe we should look outside again,” Mike said.

  “He’s not out there,” Kate said. “We both looked all around.”

  Mike shrugged. “Well, I’m going to double-check!” he said. He walked to the outside door and was just about to go through it when he spotted something on the floor against the wall.

  “Hang on!” Mike said. He crouched down. “There’s a piece of paper here with tape on it.” Mike lifted it up from the floor and turned it over. There was a note on the other side. “Manny!” he shouted. “Come quick! Louie’s in trouble!”

  Dog-Napped

  Mike held out the note. Kate’s and Manny’s eyes grew wide as they read the message:

  I love Louie, but I love the Cardinals and their World Series wins more! So I’ll make a trade: Leave a Cardinals’ World Series trophy in a paper bag outside the stadium behind the statue of Stan Musial, with no security around, and I’ll give Louie back. But if you don’t drop the trophy off at the end of the ninth inning, you’ll never see Louie again!

  “Oh no!” Manny said. “This is horrible. Louie’s been kidnapped!”

  “I think the word is dog-napped,” Mike said. “Like in 101 Dalmatians.”

  “That would be bad!” Kate said. “Cruella de Vil wanted to make those Dalmatians into coats! We can’t let anyone do that to Louie!”

  Mike scanned the room. “We won’t,” he said. “If someone left a note, they might have left a clue. Let’s search this room again.”

  “Yes, good idea,” Manny said. “But I’ve got to tell Tommy about this. And then I’m going to find Mr. Lee, the Cardinals chief of security, to ask for help.”

  Mike tapped his sneaker on the ground. He bit his lip and looked at Kate until Manny disappeared through the door.

  “What if Tommy kidnapped Louie?” he asked.

  “Tommy?” Kate asked. “Why would he do it?”

  “Maybe he’s trying to make his life easier by making Louie disappear,” Mike said. “Think about it. Tommy doesn’t like dogs. And he didn’t seem to care when Louie escaped outside before the game.”

  Kate thought for a moment. Then she shook her head. “I really don’t think so,” she said. “He might like horses better than dogs, but it seems like a stretch that Tommy would kidnap Louie.”

  “Well, I think he’s a suspect,” Mike said. “Let’s keep an eye on him while we look for clues.”

  “Okay,” Kate said. She glanced up the hallway. “Since the guard didn’t see Louie, we know he didn’t go that way,” she said. “Let’s take one more pass through this room in case we missed anything.”

  Kate and Mike zigzagged across the room. But all they found were grass clippings and bits of red clay from the warning track. They sto
pped when they reached the far wall.

  Kate frowned. “Whoever took Louie must have left some clues,” she said.

  “I know!” Mike said. “But where? And where’s Manny? I thought he’d be back from talking to Tommy by now. Maybe they discovered something! Let’s go find them.”

  BRIIING! BRIIING! BRIIING!

  A telephone on the wall at the other end of the room rang.

  “I’ll get it!” Mike said. He started for the phone.

  “Hang on!” Kate said. “It’s probably for the groundskeepers.”

  Mike and Kate looked around. There were no groundskeepers in sight.

  BRIIING! BRIIING! BRIIING!

  “Okay, then,” Kate said. “If no one else is going to answer it, I think we can.”

  Mike ran across the room and picked up the receiver.

  “Hello,” he said. “It’s Mike Walsh.”

  His eyes grew wide. He looked at Kate and pointed to the phone. Then he twisted the receiver away from his mouth and said, “It’s Red Gibson!”

  When Mike hung up and walked back to Kate, he was shaking his head.

  “Red heard from someone on the grounds crew that Louie was missing,” Mike said. “He was worried and wanted to know if anyone had found him.”

  “Did you tell him about the note?” Kate asked.

  Mike nodded. “I had to,” he said. “He asked if we’d found any clues.”

  “How did he take it?” Kate asked.

  “Not well,” Mike said. “Red was really upset that Louie had been dog-napped. I hope it doesn’t mess up his game!”

  A Doggone Dead End

  “Come on!” Kate said. “We can’t let Louie’s disappearance interfere with Red’s hitting streak. We’ve got to find Manny and see what’s going on.”

  The cool night air hit Mike and Kate as they walked outside. Streetlights lit the loading zone, but the sky was dark.

  VROOM!

  The tractor trailer loaded with horses pulled away from the parking area. A security guard waved to the driver as the truck drove off. The guard rolled the loading zone gates closed after the truck had passed by.

  Mike and Kate waved their arms. “Wait! What about Louie?” they shouted over the noise of the truck. “Come back!”

  The truck rumbled off into the night.

  Mike’s and Kate’s shoulders slumped.

  “I can’t believe Manny and Tommy just left!” Mike said.

  “I know!” Kate said. “Now what?”

  “No! No! It’s okay,” said a voice.

  It was Manny! He walked out from behind the other tractor trailer.

  “Tommy had to get the horses back to the stables,” Manny said. “He left me behind to search for Louie.”

  “We’ve looked everywhere,” Kate said. “There’s no sign of him.”

  “I know,” Manny said. “Now that I’ve finished helping Tommy, I’m going to find Mr. Lee. I can’t search the entire stadium, even with you two helping. Plus, the Cardinals have to be involved if we need a World Series trophy for the ransom.”

  Mike glanced at Kate. He pointed at the truck disappearing into the distance. Kate nodded.

  “What if Tommy had something to do with Louie’s disappearance?” Mike asked. “Tommy really doesn’t seem to like him. Maybe he made Louie disappear.”

  Manny’s mouth dropped open a little. Then he shook his head. “That’s an interesting idea,” he said. “But I know that Tommy loves Louie. He wouldn’t have taken him for the ransom, or anything else. Plus, Tommy just left with the horses, so he won’t be here in the ninth inning to pick up the ransom!”

  “Oh,” Mike said. “Well, it seemed like he doesn’t care for Louie.”

  Manny waved his hand. “No, he does,” he said. “You should see them back at the stables. He gives Louie treats all the time. Tommy just gets grumpy when we’re out parading and he has to care for the horses and watch Louie.”

  “Well, if Tommy didn’t take Louie, we need to figure out who did!” Kate said.

  “I don’t think we have time to figure that out now,” Manny said. “It would be great to catch the criminal, but I really want to get Louie back. That’s the most important thing, even if the Cardinals have to give up a trophy to do it.”

  Kate snapped her fingers. A big smile spread across her face. “But maybe we can figure out a way to do both,” she said. “What if we could get Louie back and catch the criminal? All without giving up a World Series trophy!”

  Manny tilted his head and stared at Kate. “How could we do that?” he asked.

  “Well, the note said to leave the trophy in a bag by the Stan Musial statue with no security around,” Kate said. “What if you do that, but have the Cardinals put security people across the street and at the corners?”

  “But how would that help catch the dog-napper?” Mike asked. “Won’t he or she get lost in the crowd?”

  “Yes, for a little bit. But here’s what we can do. When banks get robbed, tellers sometimes put an exploding dye packet in the bag with the money. Then, about ten seconds after the robber leaves the bank, the packet explodes and covers the robber with bright red dye. If we ask the police to put a dye packet in the bag with the trophy, the dog-napper will be easy to find even if security people aren’t close by!”

  Manny nodded. “That’s a great idea, Kate,” he said. “I’ll see if Mr. Lee can arrange that. Then we’d be able to catch the dog-napper, save the trophy, and rescue Louie!”

  “Perfect!” Mike said. He gave Kate a fist bump. “Way to go!”

  “Thanks,” she said. “Manny, while you’re working on that, Mike and I will continue to investigate. How can we get ahold of you if we find something?”

  Manny handed Kate a business card. “Here’s my number,” he said. “Call or text me if you come up with anything. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Mike and Kate followed Manny inside. As they headed up the hallway back into the main part of the stadium, they ran into Harry, the hot dog king.

  “Oh, hi, guys!” Harry said. “Relish a hot dog? If you do, I’m up near the main entrance. Stop by my stand. I was just coming down to get the charger for my phone. I left it plugged into the wall.”

  Mike and Kate shook their heads. “We can’t think about eating now. Louie is missing!” Mike said. “Someone left a ransom note, and we’re trying to find him.”

  “Oh no!” Harry said. “That’s awful!”

  “Did you see anything when you were selling hot dogs here earlier?” Kate asked Harry.

  “No,” Harry said. “I brought my cart up to the main entrance in the first inning. When I left, Louie was lying on a mat near the wagon. Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe if we leave out some hot dogs, he’ll find his way back.”

  “We just searched the area,” Kate said. “Louie’s definitely not here, so I don’t think the hot dogs would help.”

  “Thanks, Harry,” Manny said. “But I’m heading upstairs to try to arrange the ransom. We have to set it up before the ninth inning or, the note said, we won’t see Louie again.”

  Harry sighed. “This is bad,” he said. “I hope you’ll be able to rescue Louie. I’d hate to see anything happen to him.”

  Manny nodded. “Me too,” he said. “We can’t replace Louie.”

  “Good luck!” Harry said. “I’ll keep my eye out for anything strange.”

  Harry walked into the groundskeepers’ area and unplugged his phone charger. Mike, Kate, and Manny continued up the hallway. Once they passed the security guard, Manny waved goodbye and headed for the stairs to the security office.

  Mike and Kate stepped into the main walkway. Fans were streaming by to visit the restroom or buy food. Mike and Kate pushed through the crowds to the railing overlooking the field. It was the bottom of the sixth inning. St. Louis was still behind by one
. There was a man on first and two outs. But at least Red would be up next if the current Cardinals batter didn’t strike out.

  “Now what?” Mike asked. “Tommy’s gone. We don’t have any real clues. Maybe it’s time to get something to eat.”

  Kate shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “There’s still something we can investigate.”

  Mike raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Maybe one of the groundskeepers took Louie!” Kate said.

  A New Plan

  Mike looked at the field. “The groundskeepers?” he asked.

  Kate nodded. “They have lots of equipment in that area,” she said. “Maybe they were there when the horses and wagon got back. One of them could have dog-napped Louie when Manny and Tommy were loading the horses on the truck.”

  “What a good idea! We need to check it out,” Mike said. Then he looked up for a moment. “Hey, that might actually be a great idea!”

  “What do you mean?” Kate asked as she twirled a strand of her long brown hair around her finger.

  “When you said ‘groundskeepers,’ I just remembered we saw one when we first went to visit the horses,” Mike said. “He was standing near the door to the field and he was eating peanut butter! Maybe we could see if it matched the peanut butter I found on the ground!”

  “How would we do that?” Kate asked. “How can we match peanut butter?”

  “It’s easy,” Mike said. “Crunchy or creamy! The stuff I found on the ground was crunchy. It had bits of peanuts in it. If we can find the jar of peanut butter that groundskeeper was eating, we can see if it matches.”

  Suddenly, the crowd roared. With one man on base and two outs, the Cardinals batter had hit a single!

  “Hang on,” Mike said. “Red’s up next! We’ve got to watch this. He might set a new record!” Mike clapped and cheered with the rest of the crowd. “Let’s go, Cardinals!” he yelled.